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Level 40 and 50 dungeons were pretty awesome - but very hard, that being said there were only four of us

We developed a really cool tactic for the 2nd Champion in the level 50 dungeon revolving around kiting the giant pack of mobs around while slowing killing the boss from afar. Took many attempts before we figured that out but really satisfying when we did.

Some of the high level zones have had really awesome event chains including Harathi Hinterlands and a big chain about taking Centaur camps.

Also, gotta love 300% xp for being some of the first people in a zone.

EDIT 1: Also - no separated loot / interact key Anet? really? REALLY? I can't even count the number of people I saw complaining about this over beta weekends - it makes NO LOGICAL SENSE.

EDIT 2: Similarly: no option to restart/cancel instances...

This touches on a point I've made before about how they seem to have made all these great calls with the big game design issues and then screwed up lots of little ones

My favourite moment of frustration/silliness came form a point in my personal story. Spoiler free, the quest is a one-on-one boss fight that I just could not manage in one sitting (the bad guy has a few interrupts which really mess my elementalist up), but the respawn point is literally 10 yards from the fight. So I would kite him towards the point and then re-aggro him after each death before his health regened. Dirty cheating but worked like a charm.

That this whole encounter was framed within a sportsmanlike duel just made me laugh.

Best unintentional moment - getting a bug which caused permanent swiftness. I think it was from using a glyph of swiftness and a speed boost together. Although it was nice to feel like Usain Bolt, I'm going to try and replicate it and submit bug report if I find the cause.

Best intentional moments - Game keeps getting better and better with each zone imo. The characterisation of NPCs is the best of any mmo I've played.

I was barely able to play over the weekend. Level 10 and counting - Thursday night will be a big push for me I think as I should have the house to myself. Very much enjoyed what I've played so far though.

Still trying to get my controls set up just right. Despite not seeming to need that many keys, by the time you've got dodging, weapon swapping, and things like Mesmer shatter abilities in the pot, there's quite a lot to map out. I finally had a "click" with the combat system last night whilst fighting a pack of Ettins. I set up a chaos field and got a phantasm lobbing spells with my staff, then swapped to sword and pistol, got another phantasm up and then leapt in with my illusionary leap. Total spell effect overload and a lot of fun.

Man, all these people I know are reporting that their characters are already at level 25-30, or even higher. Meanwhile, I'm sitting pretty at 14 and haven't even really bothered to venture out of the Plains of Ashford yet. I've been trying to do just about everything though, so maybe that's it. I mean, it takes a long time to run around and gather materials to level my weapon and armorsmithing. I mean, it's taken me forever to get the two professions to level 25. I can't keep up with my own level at all. Especially not with the way that the simplest of recipes require me to get uncommon drops. I figure a lot of it has to do with the fact that I'm leveling two professions that use the same primary material(metal), but at the same time that seems to be all I can find. Armorsmithing requires a fair bit of cloth too, and even with the fact that I'm salvaging practically everything I can't seem to ever find enough of the stuff.

And I just can't seem to figure out the discovery system all that much. I kind of figured it would be a means to waste materials, but it won't let you actually attempt to craft anything until you have a guaranteed discovery. So that idea is out the window. And I've figured out that not everything mixes in with each profession. But it just seems fairly random how stuff fits. Like, one time I had the ability to add glittering dust to my discoveries, but only that one time. Now I can't add it at all. It doesn't even show up as an option to add it in anymore. Was there seriously only one item in the entire profession that used glittering dust? Or is it just trolling me?

Also, resource nodes seem to take forever to respawn. Added in with the fact that you de-level as you go to different areas, and so you'll always pull aggro from nearby hostile mobs, it makes profession leveling just seem extremely tedious. I mean, I try to hit all the nodes as I come across them, but having to fight big groups of stuff in order to reach some of them and not having much more of an advantage over them than I had two days ago when I was just starting out makes it a bit annoying. Though I guess it does make it a bit more exciting than WoW's "I'm gonna ride my mount in circles for all the nodes in the area!" method, because I actually have to get involved.

Aside from that, I'm really enjoying the game so far. It's a nice change of pace from other MMOs because, aside from the aforementioned professions, it doesn't seem to be making itself rely on super-grinding. And figuring out how stuff works is actually interesting in this game, even if it does confuse me to no end sometimes. Though I do wish the trading post was open already, because damn it! I need crafting materials! UNRULY CRAFT! *furiously makes a new shield and pair of boots*

I mean, it takes a long time to run around and gather materials to level my weapon and armorsmithing. I mean, it's taken me forever to get the two professions to level 25. I can't keep up with my own level at all. Especially not with the way that the simplest of recipes require me to get uncommon drops. I figure a lot of it has to do with the fact that I'm leveling two professions that use the same primary material(metal), but at the same time that seems to be all I can find. Armorsmithing requires a fair bit of cloth too, and even with the fact that I'm salvaging practically everything I can't seem to ever find enough of the stuff.

And I just can't seem to figure out the discovery system all that much. I kind of figured it would be a means to waste materials, but it won't let you actually attempt to craft anything until you have a guaranteed discovery. So that idea is out the window. And I've figured out that not everything mixes in with each profession. But it just seems fairly random how stuff fits. Like, one time I had the ability to add glittering dust to my discoveries, but only that one time. Now I can't add it at all. It doesn't even show up as an option to add it in anymore. Was there seriously only one item in the entire profession that used glittering dust? Or is it just trolling me?

I'm no crafting expert (this guy is), but I find the discovery system is key to quick advancement at the start of a crafting tier, then known recipes are generally the fastest way to finish each one off. Discovery is absolutely magic, and can jump you 3 or more levels for each one.

I believe that once an ingredient turns red in the discovery pane it means you've no use for it until you reach the next level band or tier. Bearing in mind you'll be getting ingredients all the time for tiers/level bands above what you can use right away, it's a handy indicator for not clogging your inventory with things. No it's not a true discovery system which is a shame, but this is countered by the fact there's no chance of failure and the rewards are really nice anyway.

I'm only just past level 75 in my two chosen professions though, so if the guide above contradicts me, then follow the guide

Originally Posted by zanchito

Do not feel bad, I'm up to level 20 and I've been playing like crazy, I don't get how people are already level 50.

Me neither! I'm back at work now though and can only play a few nights a week from now on, so getting left behind seems inevitable. This might make me feel less rushed - and I may also change my tack and not focus on 100%-ing areas for a while.

To be honest given the ongoing party zoning issues and other bugs, the game will be more fun to play when they are fixed. So leveling slower has the benefit of a more polished experience. I'm definitely slowing my pace now for this reason.

Trick to crafting I think, as per the guide, is to stick to refinements first until you no longer gain skill from them (i.e. they go grey). So gather everything you come across and hold out on making stuff. Then do discoveries, one of each insignia type for each weapon type until you hit the next tier, at which point it's back to refinements. So you don't actually need to grind lots of one particular rare material or end up with multiple copies of the same item.

I spend 3 evening and at least 12 hours on the game making and deleting characters... So far my most advance character is a level 4 thief...

It's impossible to find the perfect class/race for me. I watched tons of vids, especially PVP because that's what I fear the most: bad choice for PVP.

Alright, I'll give it a try. Maybe you guys are wiser than me.

Deep down, I am a more of mélée player, but I like to have ranged options when needed. I like to be able to move fast, and I tend to play offensively. I like shiny magic effects too.

I love to pvp but always go stupidly in the middle of the fray. So either I learn to play smart or I have to choose a really sturdy class.

So I thought I might find my luck between mesmer, thief and guardian. There seemed to be too much warriors already.

I tried the 3 classes for a (really) little while. Mesmer (my first choice since it felt special): I fear not having enough mobility and I find illusions useless in (early) pve, everything dies before they start to shine. I am not sure I would be able to use my shatters properly too... Thief, I fear to be too squishy, but I really like to be quick and to have all those evasive maneuvers. Guardian, I fear that the class would be too slow to play and not playing the class adequatly if not supporting my allies properly.

In most MMOs I feel like ranged player have the edge in mass combat, is it the same here ? the combat is hectic and at times i had troubles to understand what was going out.

Right now I just want to choose a class and stick to it. Today's flavor is Mesmer again. WIth greatsword for long range combat and dual swords to satisfy my lust for blood...

Thief has some good survivavility if you specialize. Against melee, for example, it has a skill you can spam on the secondary pistol that creates area blind. For PvP specifically, I can't tell you, I haven't tried it yet, to be honest I'm a little scared of doing ridiculously bad. Also, the thief in my oppinion is kind of a late bloomer, you really need to be level 15-20 to start seeing the beauty.

I don't have much experience with many of the classes, I've picked a Ranger and I'm sticking with it for now. All I'll say is, if you feel like a class has a particular weakness you don't like, it might be the kind of thing you wouldn't notice in a group. When you end up playing with people you know well and get communicating, you usually find other classes have the abilities to plug the gaps where you're weakest. So the obvious example being a Thief getting some extra protection from a Guardian and lasting longer in a fight.

At the moment the PvP I've played has all been a bit chaotic, so getting the different classes working together is tough. Although last night our group finally had a Guardian with us, and I could definitely notice the extra survivability I had in fights.

Keep in mind also that while a Warrior is baseline more survivable than a thief, that difference pales in comparison to gear. If you build straight Power/Precision on a Warrior, you will die in five seconds (but you'll deal great damage for that duration). If you build straight Toughness/Vitality on an Elementalist you'll be able to tank crazy amounts of damage. Every class can play the bruiser, every class can play the glass cannon, and everything in between. So if you want to build a thief that jumps into the melee, does some damage but is pretty tanky, you can do that.

Fun fact, Guardian has the lowest base health pool of any profession (tied with two others, idr which).